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Why this is going to be the most controversial Met Gala ever!

Text: Ciara Sheppard; Photography: IMaxTree

April 9, 2018

Always the biggest event in any annual fashion calendar, the Met Gala is less than a month away.

And while we’re still all marvelling at the fashion at last year’s Met Gala, as guests came and tried their hand at the Rei Kawakubo theme (with Rihanna nailing it most), we’re counting down the days until the next instalment.

But amongst our excitement is also apprehension, thanks to this year’s theme reveal.

In one of the most interesting Met Gala themes of years gone by, this Spring will see the theme “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” taken on by the institute. The actual exhibition is set to showcase a dialogue between iconic fashion pieces and religious art – from paintings to the actual papal attire on loan from the Sistine Chapel sacristy.

Trying to show the influence of religion and liturgical vestments in fashion, the exhibition will borrow 150 garments from the archives of the likes of Balenciaga, Versace, Chanel and Dior – most of which have a history of a close relationship with religion. We predict the stars will look to these brands for their take on the theme.

The exhibition, which will be sponsored by Donatella Versace, alongside investors Christine and Stephen A. Schwarzman, will be on view from 10 May to 8 October 2018. It will be held at a literal “trinity of locations”: the Anna Wintour Costume Center, the medieval galleries at the Met’s Fifth Avenue location, and at the upper Manhattan museum, The Cloisters. As for the actual gala, it will take place on the first Monday of May, as per usual.

This Spring/Summer season we saw several designers show religious motifs in their collections – including the event’s sponsor Donatella Versace for Versace, John Galliano for Maison Margiela, and Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy – but it’s hard to know how the famous guests will take on the theme, especially in such politically charged times.